Dave Rawlings Machine’s 2013 crackerjack lineup – Gillian Welch, John Paul Jones, Willie Watson and Paul Kowert – is back for six nights only this summer, beginning June 18 in Boulder, CO, and finishing up on June 27 at Nashville, TN’s legendary Ryman Auditorium.
The high-caliber collective is known for their shows of distinctive picking, high lonesome songs, ands some pretty great covers, like in the Live and Breathing Session below. Fan club pre-sale for the tour will begin on March 20. General on sale begins March 21. Complete tour dates are below.
June
18 – Boulder, CO – Boulder Theater
24 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theater
25 – St. Louis, MO – The Sheldon
26 – Louisville, KY – Brown Theatre
27 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Jimmy Kimmel Live broadcast the show for a week in Austin from The Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts, The show’s week-long trip to the capital was timed with the 28th annual South by Southwest (SXSW®) Festival.
And on his last night of his stay Kimmel invited Lonely Boys as well as the Lone Star State’s greatest ambassador Willie Nelson.
Clad in black discusses his history with Austin, getting a black belt in Taekwondo and his SXSW party “The Heartbreaker Banquet.”
Portland Oregon’s self-described “junkbox blues duo” has a new song “Don’t Come Down” that offers some of the heat and ramshackle alchemy of Henry Christian (Guitar) and John Johnson (percussion), but with this cut there’s more.
From the guitar loop running throughout and the reverbed, lonesome vocals, there’s a beautiful menace and a work of a deft subtlety pointing to a richness and bravery in flexing their musical brawn.
“Don’t Come Down” is from Hillstomp’s upcoming, 4th full-length release “Portland, Ore” out April 15. The album is their first on Fluff and Gravy Records and features 10 new tracks and is mixed by Chet Lyster of Eels, and produced in conjunction with Kevin Blackwell of Sassparilla.
The record will be available on CD and LP, and can be pre-ordered here.
On March 25, Columbia/Legacy will release “Out Among the Stars,” an album of lost songs recorded by Johnny Cash in the early 1980s produced by Billy Sherrill.
You can now see a video for the album cut “She Used to Love Me a Lot”, directed by filmmaker John Hillcoat (the man behind The Proposition, The Road, and Lawless as well as music videos for Nick Cave, How to Destroy Angels, Depeche Mode, and others)
The video is a collection of snapshots of the American Cash championed in song and deed intercut with shots of the Man in Black himself.
In Hillcoat words from an accompanying statement:
The lyrics seemed to speak to America as it is now, to the nation that loved him and to the great divide he fought so hard against. This divide has only grown exponentially since he died, so we wanted to show America under this stark light and as a homage to the very reason Cash always wore black: to the shameful increase of the disenfranchised and outsiders. At the same time, we wanted to reference the great man’s own struggle and journey from the love of his life to the burnt out ruins of his infamous lake house home, personal photographs, the cave where he tried to take his life but then turned it all around, the place he last recorded in and his last photo before his passing.
“She Used to Love Me a Lot” was written by Dennis Morgan, Charles Quillen, and Kye Fleming. In 1984, David Allan Coe was recorded the song on his album “Darlin’, Darlin”. Listen to the Elvis Costello remix of Cash’s version here.
After 8 all-too-brief spellbinding and perplexingly metaphysical episodes the first season of HBO’s True Detective has finally reached its conclusion. The ending was such a hit that the millions hitting HBO GO service crashed the system for much of the show.
It’s no wonder it’s a hit.
The spirit of the show is reflected in the taunt writing of creator Nic Pizzolatto. Then there’s the stellar performances by Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson as the dysfunctional Det. Rustin Spencer “Rust” Cohle and Det. Martin Eric “Marty” Hart bound together to catch a dark killer.
Another star of the series was the music selection that provided atmosphere and texture in a way that you hardly realized you were hearing songs by Wu-Tang Clan , Bob Dylan and Austin’s 13th Floor Elevators.
The soundtrack also included a great selection of Americana, country, gospel, and blues. John Lee Hooker and Slim Harpo sit aside Steve Earle , Buddy Miller , Lucinda Williams and Father John Misty.
And then there’s that stunning opening segment backed by The Handsome Family excellent performance of the T Bone Burnett-penned “Far From Any Road.” (below)
I reached out on twitter to ask folks what bands they most would like to hear on True Detective season two. Some of the choices were obvious, some surprising. All great and would fit nicely.
If Nic Pizzolatto stops by (‘sup Nic) I hope he considers some these great artists and allows them to set a tone and allow the greater exposure.
Enjoy and leave you choices in the comments.
Lincoln Durham is a consummate stage performer and brings grit, soul and blood to his craft. Perfect for end credits or a bar fight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5QGl8PgUX8
Elephant Revival’s warm and inviting sound could lull in a audience in just before a particularly gruesome bit of work.
The Ben Miller Band kicked my butt in Nashville and their performance has stuck with me. Bar scene or panning a rugged landscape.
Valerie June. Who am I kidding. Put Valerie June in any segment and she’ll steal the scene.
Lee Harvey Osmond is a master of atmosphere. He’d fit right into a scene needing a slow simmer. Love scene, hands down.
Lindi Ortega is as good as it gets. Her sound is a great fit for an opening credits or as a a pan of the killers quarters.
Slim Cessna’s Auto Club oozes chaos and menace. Add to something violent.
16 Horsepower sounds as old as the hills and as deep as a grave. Opening credits or main character reflective moment.
Hiss Golden Messenger’s darkness is always bolstered by a joyful reverence. Perfect for a moment of hoe or resolution.
Rachel Brooke was born to back a show like True Detective. Her sound is of the ages and has a playful darkness and perfect for a late-night rainy drive away from something unspeakable.
Twang nation is proud to feature the new video by Brooklyn/Queens-based band The Dust Engineers. The stylized, noir-inspired video for their song “Lead [Pb]” captures adeptly the song’s lush atmosphere leading toward either a double cross or sweet comeuppance.
The band’s sound is reminiscent of The Red House Painters, Tarnation or Trinity Session-era Cowboy Junkies. Shimmery strummed and yearning slide electric guitars swirl around lead vocalist Sara M’s soft, siren phrasing. It’s is like a high-noon summer sun dappling through a glass of good bourbon,
When asked about the song’s title principle songwriter Erik Rosenberg replies:
“The atomic symbol “Pb” is included in the song title to clarify that “Lead” describes the heavy metal, especially its weight, its toxicity, and its color. These qualities reflect the main concept of the song: losing your sense of self to to the depths of an unhealthy relationship, a relationship that plagues you but simultaneously defines you.”You can hear that the first lyric is “Lead. Lead on my back I’m sated. Go on go on.”
The song sounds lighter than air, “He” than “Pb,” though when connected to the video it does get pretty heavy.
The mighty Drive-By Truckers took to the stage on Conan last night to perform the Mike Cooley-penned “Shit Shots Count” from their new release “English Oceans.”
Of course they burned it up as they always do live. And I defy you to find anyone this side of Keith Richards that looks cooler playing guitar than Cooley.
As I posted a few months ago March 25 Columbia/Legacy will release a “lost” Johnny Cash album of 12 shelved recordings from the early 80s produced by Country Music Hall of Fame member Billy Sherill.
Putting aside the question “does a Johnny Cash need a remix?,” on March 11, a cut from the album, “She Used to Love Me a Lot” will be released on a 7″ with the below remix by Elvis Costello. The remix does appear on the album.
The recordings were unearthed by the label and Cash’s son John Carter Cash in 2012. It includes duets with both Waylon Jennings and June Carter Cash. Two tracks are credited as being written by Johnny Cash, “Call Your Mother” and “I Came to Believe”.
Listen to the original version of “She Used to Love Me a Lot”:
Merle Haggard and the Strangers’ original release of the of “Okie From Muskogee” was December of 1969. The album went on to win the Academy of Country Music award for Album of the Year and Single of the Year for the Roy Edward Burris co-written ode to small town pride, “Okie from Muskogee.” The album was recorded live in Muskogee, Oklahoma and has been re-released in 1992, 1996, 1997, 2005, and 2006.
You can add 2014 to that list.
On March 25th Capital Nashville will reissue a special 45th anniversary package. The rerelease has been Remastered from the original analog tapes and will include “The Fightin’ Side Of Me,†a live Philadelphia recording that has never been released before on CD or digitally
Hear an up-tempo live version of Haggard’s ‘I Take a Lot of Pride In What I Am’ below.
Track List:
Disc 1
Okie From Muskogee
Recorded Live In Muskogee, Oklahoma 1969
1. Introduction by Carlton Haney
2. Mama Tried
3. No Hard Times
4. Silver Wings
5. Merle Receives Key To Muskogee
6. Mere’s Introduction to Medley
Medley:
7. Swinging Doors
8. I’m A Lonesome Fugitive
9. Sing Me Back Home
10. Branded Man
11. In The Arms Of Love
12. Workin’ Man Blues
13. Merle’s Introduction To “Hobo Billâ€
14. Hobo Bill’s Last Ride
15. Billy Overcame His Size
16. If I Had Left It Up To You
17. White Line Fever
18. Blue Rock
19. Introduction To “Okie From Muskogeeâ€
20. Okie From Muskogee
Disc 2
The Fightin’ Side Of Me
Recorded Live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1970
1. Opening Theme: Hammin’ It Up
2. I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am
3. Corrine Corrina
4. Every Fool Has A Rainbow
5. T.B. Blues
6. When Did Right Become So Wrong
7. Philadelphia Lawyer
8. Stealin’ Corn
9. Harold’s Super Service
Medley:
10. Devil Woman
11. I’m Movin’ On
12. Folsom Prison Blues
13. Jackson
14. Orange Blossom Special
15. Love’s Gonna Live Here
16. Today I Started Loving You Again
17. Okie From Muskogee
18. The Fightin’ Side Of Me
Beck Hansen was at his Cali-folk best on last night on SNL. Backed by John Misty’s Josh and Tillman Justin Meldal-Johnsen, Beck’s reverent rendition of “Blue Moon” and orchestral drenched “Wave,” both from his recent masterpiece “Morning Phase,” proves again that when the kitsch is stripped away Beck is a master song craftsman that fits comfortably in the Americana fold.
Photo credit: Andy Tennille
